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Early Literacy and Families Program

Need

Leading up to kindergarten, children from low-income families will have heard 13 million words while their more affluent peers have heard 45 million words.

Services

Our Early Literacy and Families program fosters family literacy, our preschool program located at Open Door Learning Center-Arlington Hills and a parenting class held monthly. We serve children ages 3-to 5-years-old as well as their parents. Daily preschool classes focus on vocabulary building, alphabetic knowledge and phonemic awareness — all of which help students become kindergarten-ready. The parenting classes focus on improving parent-child interactions that strengthen children's development and early literacy.

Outcomes

100% of children pre- and post-tested made early literacy development gains on the Individual Growth and Development Indicators (IGDIs).

96% of parents reported making changes in behaviors to support their child’s education (increased reading time at home, story telling and library visits).